ANA Show Report (AKA my longest post ever)

[MunkyMan95]

Hey guys,

 

I'm sitting in the hotel room now, back from the coin show. Getting down here was a pain, took 4 1/2 hours when it should have only taken 3. Then, when we got to downtown Charlotte, there was a Saint Partick's Day parade going on! We finally made it into the Convention Center, and there was a line almost out the door for registration. I was convinced that there was a conspiracy to keep me away from the show.

 

Finally, we're in. The first table you see when you walk in is Steve Contursi's booth from Rare Coin Wholesalers. Never thought I'd see him here. Anyways, we walked around and saw some very nice coins. Saw my first MS69 morgan dollar, 1880-S I believe.

 

The first coin I bought was an ANACS graded MS63 morgan dollar. It's got a pretty tone from about 5:00 to 9:00, crescent-shaped on the obverse. Very pretty rainbow colors. 1885-O, $50.

 

The second coin I bought was an ANACS graded VF30 1832 Bust Half. O-112 (Dash 1). The dealer had no idea what O-112 was, so I paid no premium for it. He had it at $89 sticker, gave me is best price as $75, and bumped it down to $73 since he could see that I was very interested.

 

So, now it's been about 2 hours and I still don't have my Saint. You guys were right. I should have brought mostly cash. Many of the dealers were weary of Credit Card scams and whatnot. However, I did find one dealer that was willing to work with me. I don't recall his name, but we're heading back to the show in the morning and I'll make sure to get his name. Awesome dealer!

 

This guy had about 6 MS63 Saints in his case, I chose one of the better examples. I stood there for a good 10-15 minutes, not knowing what to do. I wanted the coin, but this man was not set up to accept Visa. The price on the coin was $750. He asked if I had a real interest in the coin, and I replied with an excited "YES!" He said that I should follow him. We walked across the bourse to one of his dealer friends. This man was set up to accept Visa. He said that it would be an extra $25 to accept the Visa payment.I was fine with that.

 

So, the man calls in the credit card information and the deal is done. For $775, I got an ANACS (what's with all the ANACS???) MS63 Saint. A better date too, 1926! I shook the man's hand and thanked him for helping me out.

 

I DID NOT see Fred Weinberg at the show, which was disappointing for me. I did see Lord Marcovan from the PCGS boards there, he's a bit shorter than I imagined. But he had is Holey coin vest and hat on, easy to recognize.

 

Overall, for my first National Show, this has been a very good one in my opinion. Tomorrow we'll spend the last of my money probably, and I plan on joining the ANA also. Gotta get me one of those cool ANA lanyards

 

So in short, I got my saint, a cool Bust Half, and a crescent toned morgan dollar. All ANACS slabbed. I've had a fun time so far! Can't wait to go back tomorrow.

[TomB]

Sounds like you are having a good time and I am glad a dealer was willing to work with you regarding your cash shortage. The 1832 O.112 is a common die marriage, an R2, that has no premium attached to it. Therefore, the dealer had no incentive to ask more for the coin.

[MunkyMan95]

Can't remember off the top of my head... R2 is how many coins?

[TomB]

R2 is defined as 500-1000 of that particular die marriage and is given the adjectival description of slightly uncommon. However, for practical purposes, an R2 is considered common. There is no premium attached to an R2.

[Fergie]

Hi ya,

Great show report !

Makes me long for some showtime ! Maybe I will go to South Shore Coin Clubs annual at the end of this month in Wisconsin.

 

The highest grade dollar I have seen in person is an MS-67 !

It too was a common date and was selling on the local coin shop bid board for a tad under bid. Not much interest at the price of around $700 on that day.

 

Looking forward to your next report

Fergie.

[cpm9ball]

Hey, Chad, I'm glad to hear you finally earned your "Sainthood".

 

If you're into Morgan varieties, be on the lookout for an 1878 8TF with the extra little feathers at the base of both wings. If you should find any, check for doubling on "878" of the date, particularly on the serif at the top of the "7", doubling on the right side of the first two stars on the left and tripling on the right side of the first two stars on the right. You can find quite a few of these raw and unattributed, and it's not unusual to be able to pick up an MS64 for $50.

 

Thanks for the report.

 

Chris

[gedis3]

I did see Lord Marcovan from the PCGS boards there, he's a bit shorter than I imagined. But he had is Holey coin vest and hat on, easy to recognize.

 

I didn't know his name, but my oldest daughter (11) saw him and stopped him to let him know how cool his vest was... (she has a thing for holed coins)

 

...he said thanks, and gave her a New Prez Dollar in a 2x2!

[DaveG]

Chad,

 

I'm glad you had a good show and got your Saint!

 

Thanks for the report.

[123cents]

Great report Chad. It sounds like you got 3 nice coins at very good prices.

[jhar]

Good Report. I was going to go today until I heard about the St. Patricks Day parade. I couldn't go without my kids with me, an a 3 year old, a 5 year old, and a 7 year old Autistic child don't take well to standing in line for and Hour.

 

later

[CarolinaCollector]

Great report, Chad. Thanks.

[MikeKing]

Great report. Thanks. And congratulations on your purchases!

[SkyMan]

Sounds like fun Chad!

[jtryka]

Great report Chad, now I can't wait to see the photos!

[MunkyMan95]

Well Jeff, here are a few quick photos I took in the Hotel room.

 

 

 

The morgan

 

 

 

 

I went back today, and attendance was very slow. Saw Lord Marcovan again, this time with his wife and daughter. Today was for my Dansco 7070 mostly. Got a classic head half cent, and 1866 Shield nickel w/rays, a 1863 Indian cent, and a Monroe commemorative half dollar.

 

Also picked up a Capital Plastics Buffalo Nickel set holder. The only bad thing about these is that not all the screws match each other... It's a pain to take apart and screw back together.

 

I had a very fun time! Here are some views of town:

 

[MunkyMan95]

Here's a photo of the saint that's a little better....

 

[TomB]

I'm happy for you, Chad! It sounds as though you had a terrific time and accomplished quite a bit for your collection. Good work.

[MunkyMan95]

I'm happy for you, Chad! It sounds as though you had a terrific time and accomplished quite a bit for your collection. Good work.

 

Thanks Tom! I owe it all to you guys here. If I hadn't been here and learned so much, I would have been completely lost at the show.

 

I think it's rubbing off on my family members too. I took my Dad and my Grandfather with me. My dad got a 1 oz Australian Dragon, he wanted a Kookaburra, but he saw the Dragon and decided he liked it better.

 

My grandfather picked up some odd denominations. An XF 3c Nickel, an AU piece, and a VF half dime. I told him to go for a half cent, but they got pricey (although I found mine for only $14!)

 

I did have a great time, and I learned a lot and got a much needed little vacation.

[Bruceswar]

Sounds like you had a fun time! Some nice coins you got there.

[MrSpud-migration]

Looks like you found some nice coins! Me and MrsSpud, as well as some of the other members of my coin club, were the ones upstairs trying to keep the line moving quickly when you registered on Saturday by passing out registration forms, pens, prechecking ID's, etc... When the parade ended we had a mad rush of people all at the same time. Saturday had a very large attendence, the attendence on friday and today was lighter than on Saturday.

 

I had fun at the show too, found some nice NGC slabbed So-Called Dollars, cherrypicked a few accent hair Kennedy proof sets and a 21-D Morgan Vam, picked up a NGC V8G 16-D Merc for MrsSpud (upgraded her from an AG-3), and a couple other nice coins for the collection. I also submitted a So-Called Dollar to NGC at the show (HK 222), can't wait to see what it grades.

 

I also panned for gold on both friday and today at the Reed River Mine Exhibit. I didn't find and gold on friday, but I found a small sliver today

 

It was a lot of fun!

[MunkyMan95]

Here's another photo guys - Sorry about the crappy images.

 

 

Which one were you Mr. Spud? Were you guy with the white hair in the red jacket? Or the guy in the tan shirt with the glasses and the moustache? Neither?

 

Sounds like you had a fun time too. I saw the table with all the So-Called dollars. Some were beautiful! I don't own any, so I have no idea what a fair price would be for any given coin.

[MrSpud-migration]

I was the guy in the tan shirt with glasses, mustache and goatee.

[MunkyMan95]

If I would have known it was you, I would have said hello!

 

So... Hello!

[MrSpud-migration]

Hi, pleased to have met you

[bsshog40]

Way to go Chad. Glad you found what you wanted!!Nice Coins!

[jtryka]

Chad, the Saint looks terrific! It appears to be pretty well struck, but your photos are somewhat difficult to guage luster, maybe when you get home and have time you could post a close up. And for that one extra grade point you gave up you got some other great coins! The 1832 half looks very nice too.

[MunkyMan95]

I've been working for about an hour and a half on better pictures... Maybe this will help guage luster.

 

 

 

More photos of the half, and the morgan

 

 

 

 

 

I still don't like the way these turned out, but they're getting a little better. They make the Saint look like it's got copper spots, or discolorations on both sides. There are none. The second photo looks the best out of the group, and the most realistic.

[zrlevin]

Crack them?

[jtryka]

Looks like the saint has some nice rose gold hues and good luster which if I recall is fairly typical of the date. Nice pickup!

[thebeav]

Nice coins and fine report !

Thanks...

 

Paul